Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1887-10-08
Allan QlatGpnail
BY H. RIDER HAGGARD.
AUTHOR OF KING soLokos's MINES" SHE
JESS" .THE wTrcH's HEAD" ETC.

altar, and after a little pause, in slow, clear
voice uttered the following words, which are
customary in Zu-Vendis if the bride desires
and the man consents:
"Thou dost swear by the Sun that thou wilt
take no other woman to wife unless hay my
hand upon her and bid her conner
Il swear it," added Sir Henry, adding in
English, "One is quite enough for me-"
Then Agon, who had been sulking in a corner
near the altar, came forward and gabbled Off
something into his beard at such q rate that
could not follow it, but it appeared to be an
invocation to the Sun TO bless the union and
make it fruitful / observed that Nyleptha
listened very closely to every word and after
ward discovered that she was afraid lest
Agon should play her trick, and by going
through the invocations backward divorce
instead of marry them. At the end of the
invocations they were asked, as in our serv-
ice, il they took each other for husband and
wife, and on their asserting, they kissed each
other before the altar and the service was
over, SO far as their rites were concerned.
But it seemed to me that there was yet some
thing wanting, and so l produced a prayer
book, which has, together with the "Ingolds-
by Legends" that I often read when / lie
awake at night accompanied me in all my
later wanderings. / gave it to my poor boy
Harry years ago, and after his death found
it among his things and took it back again
"Curtis," said, II am not clergyman,
and / do not know if what am going to pro-
pose is allowable know it is not legal-but
if you and the queen have no objection, /
should like to read the English marriage
service over you. 1t is a solemn step which
you are taking, and think that you ought,
as far as circumstances will allow. to give it
the sanction Of your own religion"
II have thought of that" he said, "and I
wish you would. l do not feel half married
yet"
Nyleptha raised no objection, fully under
standing that her husband wished to celebrate
the marriage according TO the rites prevail
ing in his own country, and SO set to work
and read the service from "Dearly beloved"
10 aamazement," as we'll as could; and when
I came to ~, Henry, take thee, Nylsptha," I
translated, and also II, Nyleptha, take thee,
Henry" which she repeated after me very
well. Then Sir Henry took plain gold ring
from his little finger and placed it on hers,
and so on to the end The ring had been
Curtis mothers wedding ring, and could
not help thinking how astonished the dear
old Yorkshire lady would have been il she
could have foreseen that her wedding ring
was to serve similar purpose for Nyleptha,
a queen of the Zu-Vendi.
As for Agon, he was with difficulty kept
calm while this second ceremony was going
on, for he at once understood that 1t was re-
iigious in its nature, and doubtless bethought
him of the ninety-five new faiths which
doomed up so ominously in his eyes Indeed, he
at once set me down as a rival high priest,
and hated me accordingly. However, in the
end off he went, positively bristling with in
dignation, and knew that we might look out
for danger from his direction
And off went Good and I, and old Umslopo-
gaas also, leaving the happy pair to themselves,
and very low we all felt Marriages are sup
posed to he cheerful things, but my expert
ence is that they are very much the reverse
to everybody except, perhaps, the two people
chiefly interested. They mean the breaking
up of SO many old ties as well as the under
taking of so many new ones, and there is
always something sad about the passing away
of the old order.
So Good and went and ate in silence, and
then INDUCED in an extra fine fagon of old
Zu-Vendian to keep our spirits up, and pres
emily one of our attendants came and told
1t may, perhaps, be remembered that after
his quarrel with UmslOpogaas. Alphonse had
gone off in an exceedingly i'll temper to sulk
over his scratches. Well, it appears that he
walked right past the temple to the Sun, down
the wide road on the farther side of the slope
it crowns and thence on into the beautiful
park or pleasure gardens, which are laid out
just beyond the outer wall. After wandering
al a bp cta p1 IN t-atf
but was met near the outer gate by Sorais
train of chariotS, which We're galloping
furiously along the great northern road.
When she caught sight of Alphonse, Sorais
halted her train and called to him. On ap-
preaching he was instantly seized and dragged
into one of the chariots and carried off, "cry-
ing out loudly" as our informant said, and
as, from my general knowledge of him, can
well believe.
AT first was much pnzzled to know what OBJ
ject Sorais could havein carrying off the poor
little Frenchman. She could hardly stoop so
low as to try to wreak her fury on one whom
she knew was only a servant. 1t would not
be in keeping with her character to do so. At
last, however, an idea occurred to me. We
three We're, as / think / have said, much
revered by the people Of Zu-Vendis at large.
both because we were the first strangers they
had ever seen, and because we were supposed
to be the possessors of almost supernatural
wisdom Indeed, though Sorais' cry against
the "foreign wolves" or, to translate it more
accurately, "foreign hyenas," was sure to go
down very well with the mobiles and the
priests, it was not. as we learned, likely to be
particularly effective among the bIlk OF the
population. The Zu-Vendi people, like the
Athenians of DID, are ever seeking for some
new thing, and just because we were SO new
our presence was, on the whole, acceptable to
them. Again, Sir Henry's magnificent per-
sonal appearance made deep impression
upon race who possess greater love of
beauty than any other have ever been ne
quainted with. Beauty may be priced in
other countries, but in Zu-Vendis it is almost
worshiped, as, indeed, the national love Of
statuary shows. The people said openly in
the market places that there was not man
in the country to touch Curtis in personal